Saiyan Legacies
by Stone Shield
Summary: Kushina was the sister of Raditz and Goku.  Changed by life on Earth, dying, she sent infant Naruto to Goku, where he is raised as a member of the Son family. Rated M just for language, most likely.
1. The Sons of Goku

Saiyan Legacies

Speaking

_Thoughts_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or DBZ, otherwise I'd be obscenely wealthy, duh.

Chapter 1 - The Sons of Goku

"We're heading out, Mom!" Gohan called back over his shoulder as he and his blonde brother walked out the door.

"Oh, wait a sec you two," she called after them. Pausing, they waited for her to get to the door. Rushing out the door after them, "Here you go," she said. "You'll probably want your lunch," once again proving that her boys could be so very forgetful of the little things. Gohan chuckled in embarrassment, while Naruto simply looked sheepish. "Oh, you are just like your Dad, always jumping the gun," she chastised weakly, arms crossed.

"Thanks, Mom," both boys chorused as the stowed their lunches in their satchels.

"Now we're off," Gohan replied, ready to go.

"Well, remember you two to listen to your teachers carefully," she lectured.

"Of course" and "You bet" Gohan and Naruto responded, respectfully.

"NIMBUS!" Gohan called, shouting loudly, only for the golden cloud to reappear seconds later. He hopped on and the little cloud took off.

"We'll be back later, Mom," Naruto said, flying after the speeding cloud. He loved Nimbus, and had had much fun with it as a child, but he really preferred the feeling of flying on his own.

"Have a wonderful first day, Gohan, Naruto!" ChiChi called after them as they shrunk into the distance.

Reaching the city limits, Gohan dropped from Nimbus, and Naruto landed beside him on the sidewalk. After the first mile though, "Oh, look at the time. We'll never get there at this rate," Naruto groaned. Walking, and at such a slow pace, was so boring. The two half Saiyans shared a look before both grew smirks. "Race?" Naruto asked, with an affirming nod from Gohan.

"Turbo Speed!" the black-haired boy cheered as they both shot off in twin bursts of speed that could outstrip most vehicles, completely ignoring the curious glances drivers were giving the two blurs. Unfortunately, their little competition wasn't meant to last.

A bank robbery…and today of all days! Gohan and Naruto watched from a ways back as a pair of police officers were pinned down outside of a bank currently being robbed. "Crud," the blonde groaned tiredly.

"AhahaHAha. You just try and stop us," one of the gun toting masked robbers shouted from the back of a tricked out truck, he and his buddies holding of the cops.

"Awe, another batch of crooks. It never ends!" sighed Gohan in annoyance. Sure, they hadn't been in any big fights in the last seven years, but he and Naruto'd still tried to do a little good here and there with stopping the small-time criminals. "Transform?" he suggested with a nod from Naruto. No one would recognize them when transformed. Even Naruto, whose hair was already blonde, wouldn't be recognized without some effort as his hair would turn platinum blonde. In seconds, both willed themselves into Super Saiyans. "Time to take out the trash," Naruto said with a small grin.

"Is dis the best you pigs can do?" asked one of the gunmen through a thick accent as his group continued laying down suppressive gunfire on the police. In a second a teen with short platinum blonde hair was upon them, first kicking one of the men off the truck with a foot to the face, and then another with a left hook to the jaw. His stationary position left him open though as one of the men he'd knocked from the vehicle leveled his gun at him and let loose with lead projectiles. Dodging some, the spiky-haired blonde was able to catch most of the bullets, and made a show of dropping them in front of the man after his clip ran empty. Retaliating, he used the side of the truck bed to propel himself into a jaw busting kick to the man's face. The driver, panicking, stepped on the gas and the vehicle sped away. The young man was about to respond when another platinum blonde appeared at his side.

"I got the truck," the second platinum blonde said to the first before blurring out of existence. Understanding the plan, the first blonde raised his palm at the retreating vehicle and let loose a shockwave at it, throwing it off its wheels and into the air. The second blonde reappeared in another blur right under the truck as it was thrown forward…catching it in his arms. Dropping it lazily, axels creaking under the stress, he and his partner disappeared into thin air. The pair of police officers stared in awe, unable to fully grasp what they'd just seen. Meanwhile, while the gathered crowd stood stunned, two teen boys, one with black hair, the other a blonde with limp, sun-kissed locks, stood calmly at the end of the block behind the crowd.

"You!" Gohan and Naruto both jumped. Turning, they found a dark-haired girl their own age staring them down. "Tell me who did this," she growled out. "It hardly looks like police work."

"Umm, uhh-"

"That is, we just got here," Naruto replied for his flabbergasted brother.

"I can't believe I missed it," she grit out angrily, oblivious to the pair of teens slinking away. "I should have stopped them."

"Oh, hello there, Videl. I wondered when you would get here," called an old man, greeting the young woman. "Weren't those two Golden Fighters incredible!" he spouted, jogging over to her.

"Golden fighters?" she asked, confused about what he meant. "Explain!"

"You mean you really didn't see them?" he spoke, surprised that she'd missed such a scene. "They were some kinda freakish superhumans! Why, one of 'em stopped that truck just by yelling at it! And that other guy…he caught the truck outta mid air with his bare hands!"

Frowning she clenched her fists tightly before her. "Uurgh! I should have been the one to stop them," she growled.

"Actually I assumed they was buddies a yours since they went to your high school."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, one a them had a badge just like that one on his shirt," answered the old man, pointing to her Orange Star High School badge pinned to her own shirt.

"Huh? All the kids at school have to wear these. Well if they really go there I will find them," she stated, resolute in her quest.

Somewhere nearby on the way to school, both Son boys shivered as they experienced a chill go down their spines. "That can't be good," they surmised together.

AN/ Something I've been writing for a while, off and on, and finally thought to put out. Tell me what you think.


	2. Academics, Rumors, And Migraines

Saiyan Legacies

Speaking

_Thoughts_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or DBZ, otherwise I'd be obscenely wealthy, duh.

AN/ Okay, a little detour to fill in some blanks. Basically, stuff to know.

In case you haven't guessed, Kushina was a Saiyan, coming to Earth with Goku, but was a little older. She found out, through her ship, that planet Vegeta was destroyed. She went native. Taken in by Whirlpool. Skipping forward, somewhere down the line, she tracked her brother down, without his knowledge. Weakened and on her deathbed from the joint stress of fighting in the ranks against Kyubi and from childbirth, she is adamant that Naruto not grow up in the village. She doesn't see Sarutobi as being strong enough to protect her son. Her ship, fairly thrashed is used to carry him to Goku. Finally, knowing she was soon to die, she blew hereslf up, covering up Naruto's disappearance. And you get the rest.

Sooner or later, I plan to write a prequel to this story. One of Naruto's arrival into the Son family and his growing up. Unless someone else wants to write one for me. Just have respect for the craft when/if you do. Don't write a shoddy piece of crap.

FYI, 's been screwy for over a week, at least to me. Anyway, there is a solution to the update problem. On the error page, in the url, replace "property" with "content". Problem solved.

And on to the show.

Chapter 2 – Academics, Rumors, And Migraines

Naruto hummed to himself idly as he and Gohan waited out in the hall. Really, he understood manners, but what was the point in making them wait outside for some big class-wide introduction? Sighing, he turned to see his brother was slightly on edge. Snickering quietly to himself, he couldn't help but shake his head. Of the two of them, when it came to the female gender, Gohan was the worst. He was just an absolute wreck! Sure, he himself wasn't perfect, but Gohan just couldn't seem to get comfortable around girls. Though he quietly ignored the fact that when he was around girls, his focus tended to skew, fraying a bit. "So, fun morning, huh?"

"You said it," the dark-haired boy answered back. Life never was dull around them, that was for sure. They got into almost as much trouble as their father used to.

"Satan City, huh?" Naruto asked with a grin, only for both of them to chuckle quietly at the city being named after the guy.

"It sounds better than Goku City or Gohan Town," Gohan added playfully.

"I don't know, I kind of like the sound of The City of Naruto," he mused thoughtfully, Gohan sweatdropping.

* * *

Up in the top row, the same dark haired girl from before, Videl, was sitting on her desk, musing over the morning's events. Turning to the primping blonde teen next to her, "Hey, Sharpner, don't tell me you're one of the Golden Fighters?"

The boy sneered arrogantly, "Oh spare me. I don't time to go play superhero! I spent all morning working on my arms," he replied, flexing his biceps for emphasis.

"So Videl, do you think this guy could be stronger than your pops?" asked a short-haired blonde girl to Videl's left, Eraza.

A geeky boy with reddish brown hair in the row below them snorted in disbelief. "What a joke! We all know Videl's dad is the strongest there is. He could knock these gold boys out by flexing his biceps, he's strong!"

Clearing his throat to get the attention of the students, the Jimmy Stewart-esque professor greeted the class. "Well good morning, my young scholars. Today we are being graced by two new class members who actually know how to read," he said, hinting at how disappointing some of the current students really were. "That's your cue, my boys," he said looking to the open doorway.

A hesitant Gohan led the charge, followed by a more at ease, while still nervous, Naruto. "Eheheh," chuckled Gohan nervously. "My name's Gohan. Nice to meet you."

"And I'm his brother, Naruto. Good morning."

The class focused intently on the new charges into the school. The first was introduced as Gohan. He was easily 5'10", maybe even a solid 6 feet. Spiky dark hair trimmed a kind-eyed face, but with strong etched features. He was slimly built but was wide at the shoulders, wearing brown slacks and a black vest over a long sleeved white shirt, the school badge on his vest. The other was a teen with gold similarly spiky, shaggy blonde hair. His skin was more tan than was usual to the area, but seemed so natural for him, only serving to highlight his golden locks that hung shaggily over deep blue eyes. An inch taller than Gohan, the boy, introduced as Naruto, didn't exude quite the same kindness that Gohan did, more a feeling of warmth. He was dressed in a black pair of pants with only a long sleeved light-blue shirt, badge firmly affixed to the hem of said shirt.

Up in the rows, Eraza, ogled the new meat. "Oooh, their cute!" she cooed excitedly.

Videl though was struck by a sense of familiarity. Ignoring the rude comment about their names from the geeky boy in the row lower, Videl concentrated on the two boys. "That's weird, they look familiar."

"Hmhmhmhm," chuckled Sharpner. "They were probably both on a tv spelling bee," he sniggered snidely, both being little more than geeks, losers, in his mind.

"Now, Gohan and Naruto here both did exceptionally well, scoring perfectly in fact on the entrance exams. English, Math, Chemistry…Many of you could learn from their example," he chided.

"Example this!" shouted one of the students, causing a bout of derogatory comments and whistling to erupt from the gathered teens.

"Silence! You kids are an embarrassment to public school!" the professor yelled back, agitated by their overall lack of respect. The white-haired elder professor turned to the two boys, "Well boys, you may sit where you like," he said, motioning for them to get going to find seats. Both looked around for seats that were empty. Gohan ended up in the second row from the back, with a little helpful insistence from the blonde girl at the end, sitting in the same row as Sharpner, Videl, and Eraza. Naruto eventually found a seat towards the middle, but on the left side, choosing to sit next to a girl with long, shoulder length blue-black hair, and oddly colored eyes, a mix of white with a purple tint. She gave him an uneasy, nervous smile before nodding when he smiled down at her, asking if he could sit next to her. "I'm Naruto. What's your name?" he introduced, his smile radiating its usual sun level warmth.

Her face lit up at the request but she was quick to hide it by looking away. "I-I'm, uh, Hinata. Hinata Hyuga," she said at last, trying hard not to blush and failing astronomically.

As the professor began his lecture, his attention was split. Due to his enhanced senses, he was picking up all sorts of conversations in the room, most particularly the one between Gohan and the girl introduced by her friend as Videl…Videl _Satan_. It was a rather unsettling conversation that made both himself and his brother uneasy. "So you're the guy!" she said loudly, and both Gohan and Naruto stiffened. "You and your brother…You're the guys from outside the bank this morning." Naruto deflated as his brother was given the third degree. She was mentioning the bank robbery from earlier, and how the rumors of the Golden Fighters were spreading like wildfire. Luckily, Gohan was smart and seemed to be deflecting the interrogation easily, and no one seemed to notice he was sweating bullets.

"_At least things can't get any worse_," he mentally sighed as the flow of questions stopped.

With Gohan:

"So you two are brothers, huh?" asked Eraza curiously.

"Y-Yeah," answered Gohan, finally starting to get used to the questions.

"But how come you don't look alike?" asked Eraza, before she clapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh I'm sorry, that was rude wasn't it?"

Gohan laughed nervously, "No, that's alright. Strictly speaking we're not brothers. Actually we're cousins. But Naruto's parents died when he was a baby and he came to live with us. We grew up together and as far as we're all concerned, he's my parents son, and we're brothers," he said, smiling back.

Nobody noticed the small smile Naruto wore as he heard those words, acknowledging him as close family.

"Wow! That's so neat," squealed Eraza.

"So, uh, did you just move into the city? Maybe we can study together at your house" asked Eraza from behind her book, hinting at her interest in him.

Oblivious to the forward nature of the girl Gohan answered. "No, actually we commute."

"Oh that's cool. Where from?"

"The 439 mountain area," he answered.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Get out! The 439 mountain area…that's like five hundred miles away!" she shouted earning a rebuke from the teacher.

"I'm trying to teach a class here!" the professor emphasized irately.

Ducking behind her book from embarrassment, she turned to gawk at Gohan. "How in the world do you get here?" she whispered. "That's gotta be like a five hour car drive!"

Across the room Naruto gulped as he sensed his brother's nervousness at the slip up. "Ehehe, that goes to show how dedicated I am to my education," he chuckled weakly.

With Naruto:

Naruto groaned. "_Lame,_" he thought, hearing his brother's excuse. At least the girl he was sitting next to, Hinata, wasn't grilling him in the same manner as the girl, Eraza was to his brother. Though he felt kind of odd with all the small looks she was sending at him. Not that he could tell if it was out of the norm as both he and Gohan had led rather secluded lives. If he were more in touch with his peers he might have noticed, and more importantly understood.

* * *

Classes went by slowly at first, but soon enough the day had ended. Neither of the two had noticed anything off about their behaviors which goes to show how normal their level of strength, even when suppressed, was to them. They were totally oblivious to the stares they received during the PE class. They'd played baseball. Gohan just happened to jump twenty plus feet in the air to catch a ball, even taking a hit to the head without being hurt, and Naruto, trying to run as slow as possible, made it from first base to home in seconds. Neither noticed that such was far from outside of the norm for everyone else.

"I'd say that went well," said a smiling Gohan, relieved that the day was over.

"Gohan, I've been thinking-"

"Hmm?"

"If we keep up these fights like this morning, people are gonna recognize us."

Gohan frowned before looking thoughtful, "I know, I thought the same thing, but I also thought up an answer." Naruto waited expectantly. "We need costumes."

Naruto sweat dropped, but after some thought could understand the rationalization behind his brother's idea. "Bulma?" the blonde asked.

Gohan nodded, smiling widely. "Bulma," he agreed.

Turning the corner, both flew straight up to avoid the presence of Videl that they had sensed following them. "Got a stalker already, bro?" snickered Naruto.

Gohan was about to protest before grinning back at Naruto. "I'm not the only one," and pointed. There, some distance away, was the girl he'd sat next to, Hinata, standing behind a power pole, looking around for him. Gohan laughed as his brother palmed his face.

* * *

Later:

"Costumes, huh?" mused Bulma thoughtfully. The idea made sense. It would make things a lot easier if they could keep their identities hidden, especially since both the boys had a penchant for finding trouble, just like their late father, Goku.

In less than an hour though, she had twin watches for them, each a specially designed capsule with their costume inside. Now, Gohan stood proud in a green tunic over a black bodysuit with white gloves and boots. A cape hung from his shoulders, and a helmet covered his face, concealing his identity. Some part in the back of Naruto's mind wanted to laugh his ass off for some reason. He himself was decked out in a blue shirt, black pants, boots, and a white short-sleeved trench coat similar to the one that he'd been wrapped in when he'd been sent to the Son family. It even had the same blue flames creeping up the hem. Unlike Gohan though, he refused a helmet, choosing instead to wear a white kabuki style facemask that Bulma had designed for the outfit (An Anbu style mask, but blank white with only eyeholes present). All in all, he liked the new look, even if it was for when he was fighting.

"Crud, it's getting late!" murmured Gohan, worried.

"I'm gonna stay a little longer, Gohan," spoke Naruto to his brother. "Tell mom, I'll be back before curfew."

"Okay!" shouted Gohan back to him as he flew re-storing his outfit in his watch, he waited until Gohan was out of sight.

"You know, you really should tell him," said Bulma, walking up beside him.

Naruto frowned. He didn't like deceiving his family. "I know, but mom has never really approved of our training, and Gohan's happy with a normal life, me…"

Bulma's hand went to his shoulder in attempt to comfort him. "It wasn't your fault," she reminded.

He sighed. "I know. But I can't help but think that if I had been stronger, faster, Cell wouldn't have taken me by surprise, and father wouldn't have…"

Bulma sighed, this was something the blonde had been thinking about ever since the Cell Games. He felt survivor's guilt. "You're going to have to let it go, Naruto," she suggested.

He smiled back one of his small smiles, "Sure I will," though even he didn't believe that faux statement. Looking at his watch, "I better not be any later, Vegeta'll kill me," he said cheerily, switching moods, and ran out of the room. She smiled sadly after him. Gohan and Naruto…they were such kind boys. Gohan was compassionate while Naruto was so very protective.

* * *

"You're late," spat Vegeta as the blonde entered the gravity room. Naruto didn't even bother to explain, choosing instead to get right into a fighting stance. Vegeta sneered, "Silent, eh? Well, let's go then." Trunks had left to go to bed after training all day with his dad, Vegeta. Now that he wasn't there, it was strictly one on one sparring between the two Saiyans. Ever since the Cell Games had ended, Naruto had been lost. He'd felt so responsible for his father's death, so useless in the fight. Finally though after having his ass handed to him by Piccolo to knock the sense back into him he began to train, harder than he ever had before. He promised to himself that he would never be useless in a fight again. So he trained so he would be ready for when the next fight came. He trained with Piccolo and Vegeta in secret for years.

He and Vegeta both agreed to keep the energy blasts to a minimum as the, erm, damage tended to be a bit excessive. Instead, they fought to develop their individual skills in hand to hand. And though Vegeta would never admit it, the boy was good. At least he didn't let his skills rust like Kakarot's other son. He knew why the boy pushed himself to train. He himself had felt the same way when he had been able to do so little against Cell. They fought each other at over two hundred times gravity, a light workout, for several hours, before the two sparring partners called it a night, one of them having 'school' in the morning, not that Vegeta cared. In his mind, a warrior first. Bag on his shoulder, he walked out before calling back.

"Same time tomorrow, Vegeta?"

"Hnn, count on it."

In a burst of energy he was skyward, plowing through the clouds for his home in the mountains. Hmm, it was already ten. If he pushed it, he could try to beat his record and get home in less than a half an hour. Hat trick! A muffled 'BOOM' echoed through the region as an object broke the sound barrier up above. Rolling onto his back, he began going over the day's lesson in school in his mind, once more grateful for his near photographic memory.

* * *

He nearly laughed out loud the following morning in class as he heard tell of the new, erhem, 'superhero' in town, Saiyaman. Well, at least they weren't talking about the Gold Fighters anymore. From then on the days became fairly routine, well, if you didn't count Gohan leaving class to secretly help Videl in her crime fighting. He may be oblivious to girls in his own regard, but he could see…something forming between the two, Videl and, er, Saiyaman.

Everything had been going well. The superhero, Kyubi, had joined ranks with Saiyaman in protecting the city. Somehow, the name just felt right. Heck, the darn demon's energy was a part of him, so in a way the name was kinda fitting. But the relative piece wasn't to be, as after rescuing Chobi, the family's dino pet, the following morning they were cornered in the hallway on the way to class…by Videl. Currently, Naruto was using a locker as a stress reliever, casually banging his head into it as Videl began pulling together evidence against them, specifically his brother.

"You are Saiyaman! I knew it!" she said triumphantly before turning to Naruto who had finally stopped putting dents into the lockers to look back at her sourly. "And that would make you…Kyubi, right?"

"I hate you," the blonde said dejectedly to his brother who just laughed weakly at the glare.

"Maybe I should schedule a press conference," she said with a predatory smirk that only grew as she saw their faces pale, quite a feat on someone as tan as Naruto. She knew she had them. Naruto had this feeling. He didn't know what it was, only that she was after something.

"No! Please, Videl! You know the only reason we hide our identities is to respect our family's privacy!" Gohan pleaded fearfully.

"Our lives are private, Videl, and that's how we like them," added Naruto with a wry smile.

"Is that true?" she shot at Gohan knowing he was the weakest against her glares and would crumple.

"Yes! Of course!" he answered back in growing anxiety.

Videl's eyes narrowed as she thought of something. "Hey, wait a minute. You're the Gold Fighters, aren't you?"

Both the Son boys began to sweat, not that the information would be a step up from what she already had. Though it would get her closer to figuring out they were in the Cell Games, or that they were half alien. Oh well, keep as many secrets as you can. "No! No, no, no!" they protested in unison, doing their best to sound as innocent and truthful as they could.

"Man, and I thought Vegeta could glare," thought Naruto amusedly to himself.

"Why should I believe you two?" she asked smugly, waiting for them to trip up somewhere down the line in their excuses.

"Those guys had blonde hair," supplied Gohan. Videl looked pointedly at Gohan before looking to Naruto's hair. It was golden blonde.

"Rumors say their hair was bleach blonde, and I'm not a punker," added Naruto quickly in a defensive tone.

It was true, the story was that their hair was borderline white, or platinum blonde. Okay, she could believe that, and neither of the two Son boys had hair that stood up straight. Videl just shrugged nonchalantly before continuing. "Hn, you're right about that. They're more handsome than you two are, too," she retorted, hoping for an outburst, one which never came. "I guess I believe you. Yeah, I do," she concluded with a nod to herself as she moved to lean against one of the undamaged lockers and look hard at the two boys.

"Videl, please, is there any way you can keep our secret between us?" pleaded Gohan.

She looked down, lost in thought. "Hm, maybe…"

Naruto sensed it again. She was after something. "But you have to do something for me in return," she finished. "_Bingo_," thought Naruto as he seriously reconsidered continuing his stress relief on the lockers, or maybe the concrete walls. Her face lifted, eyes flashing for a moment.

"_I'm not gonna like this_," thought Naruto again.

"Okay here's the deal: if you enter the World Martial Arts Tournament, I'll keep your secret! How's that?"

"…_Well that's not too bad_," Naruto thought, relieved. Gohan though seemed a little nervous.

"Me? Compete in the tournament?"

"Both of you," she corrected evilly. "That's right. I'm gonna be competing myself, but becoming the World Champion won't mean anything to me unless I know that all the world's best fighters are going to be there." She crossed her arms across her chest, leaning back into the locker. "My dad was the last champion. And he says a guy named Goku won the one before that." Gohan and Naruto both shifted uneasily at the mentioning of their dad. There was no way that she could… "Strangely enough I did some research about this 'Goku' fella and found out that he has two sons. One named Gohan and another named Naruto. Then I put two and two together."

"_Oh crud_," both of them thought.

"I'm right about it, aren't I? Well?"

"Er, no!" Gohan protested weakly, and unconvincingly too. Videl picked his weak defense apart like a pro.

"I knew it," she smirked at their faces. "You're Goku's sons! You're a terrible liar, Gohan! It's written all over your face!" she crowed triumphantly at the dark-haired boy.

Her cheerful attitude turned absolutely jubilant as a wide smile split her face, one worn usually by a predator when looking at its prey. "Wow! This is gonna be great! What a terrific match! The former champion's daughter fighting a former champion's son, or even sons!" She positively glowed at the idea. "Doesn't that sound exciting to you!"

"No, not really," countered Gohan unenthusiastically. "Why don't we do something really challenging like going out on a date? Eheheheh." Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at that proposal.

Videl smacked the locker beside her as she stood up from her relaxed position to glare aggressively at him. "Look, you don't have to compete if you don't want to. But if you don't I will tell everyone."

"What? You'd do that?" Gohan shouted, horrified. Naruto, though worried simply stood back and enjoyed the show.

She smirked back, "Yeah, sure. The truth is the truth, right? Your family can adjust to the lime light just like mine did."

"You wouldn't really?" he begged.

"Just try me."

Gohan balked under her ultimatum and submitted. "Oh alright then, I'll compete in the tournament."

"Same here," answered Naruto as she turned her questioning gaze on him.

"And does Hinata know about you?" Naruto's calm exterior faltered as a twitch developed under his left eye. More proof than she needed. "Cheer up, this is gonna be a blast!" she said cheerily. "You just wait and see! It's gonna be a heck of a lot more fun than some dumb old date!" before she walked away down the hall with a spring in her steps. Her head appeared from back around the corner a second later. "Oh, and there's one more condition. It's no big deal I just want to learn how to fly that's all. That shouldn't be too hard to teach me, should it?"

"No, it's a cinch," answered Gohan weakly at her request.

"Great! Well we'll get started right away! Well, seeya later!" she said brightly before turning and leaving again.

"You are so whipped," said Naruto to his brother.

Gohan turned bright red before vehemently saying she wasn't his girlfriend. "Besides, what about you and this 'Hinata'?" asked Gohan, going on the offensive.

"…I have no idea what you're talking about," his brother answered mildly before continuing on to their classroom.

Internally, Gohan was sighing at his misfortune. "Man, blackmailed twice in the same week. How do I do it? And now we have to join this tournament…mom's gonna kill us."

"Nuhuh. She'll kill _you_, not us," Naruto corrected. "I plan to throw you to the wolves."


	3. Dusting Off The Old Routine

Saiyan Legacies

Speaking

_Thoughts_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or DBZ, otherwise I'd be obscenely wealthy, duh.

AN/ I know, I know. It's been a while. The last half year's been rough work, and this last month I've been taking an intensive summer class "for shits and giggles". Anyway, I'm trying. Just be patient, that's all I ask. And for those who notice and don't read my other stories, the sporadic use of the horizontal bar in scene breaks is due to some error in .

It's belated, but I want to thank ForeverYoung97. I hadn't given much thought to my spelling of it at that time and had kept misusing "youkai" when sometimes I should've been using "youki". So, thanks.

Chapter 3 - Dusting Off The Old Routine (Only Punks Get Rusty)

"Wow. Well I must say I'm a little surprised, Gohan. It's not like you have to prove yourself or anything," spoke Bulma as she continued tuning her motorcycle, revving the engine experimentally. Gohan and Naruto were there and the dark-haired of the pair was explaining the situation to Bulma with Trunks listening from the sidelines as he drank a soda.

"I know, but Videl Satan discovered our secret," protested Gohan. "She's _blackmailing_ us into it!"

Bulma looked up in disbelief, "Again? Good grief, Gohan! You get blackmailed more than a politician! What is it with you and all these girls?"

"Want me to give you my opinion?" asked Naruto with a broad grin splitting his face.

"NO!" countered Gohan before he could say a word.

"Phooey, party pooper," the blonde pouted childishly, though the smile never left his face. An upside of all this was that lately teasing his brother had become more fun than usual. For the most part though, he wasn't feeling it. This was all just so much trouble. Not that he'd stop. It was Gohan's fault they were in this mess.

"Videl Satan…that sounds so familiar," mused Bulma. Then it dawned on her. "Wait! She's not that goon, Mr. Satan's, daughter?"

Gohan nodded the affirmative, "That's her. She's a classmate of ours at Orange Star High School."

"And she has the personality of a freight train. Stay the Hell out of her way or she'll mow you down," snorted Naruto in suppressed laughter as he described the girl.

"She's nice," contested Gohan. "Always fighting crime like we are… She's a good girl, but I've never met someone as obstinate and pushy as she is! Except for my mom. And, now that she knows who we are, she's determined to show she's stronger, at least more than me, by beating me in the tournament."

"I was the Plus One on this little invitation…I feel like the ugly girl at the dance," breathed a sulking Naruto, to which Bulma began a coughing laughter as she tried to hold it in.

Looking down at the expression Trunks was giving Gohan, undoubtedly for not fighting back against Videl's aggression, Naruto inwardly smirked. "_He'll learn someday_," he thought in amusement to himself. He wasn't in a relationship, but he had a fair understanding. Though, he'd quietly admit that there was someone in his eye.

"So this Videl girl is rude and pushy, huh?" asked Bulma as she picked up her cigarettes. Naruto frowned, he really wished she wouldn't do that. It was bad for her, and the smell really hurt his nose.

"Just to you? Or to everyone?" she asked again, her tone speculative.

"Just to me," Gohan answered.

"I see," she answered with a small knowing smile, taking a drag on her newly lit cigarette.

"Ever since I showed up as Saiyaman she's been hounding me. Saying she'll never rest until she's exposed our identities," he explained.

"Uh, uh, uh," chastised Naruto. "Don't drag me into this. She doesn't have a fixation on me. Only you," he said cheekily, earning another laugh from Bulma, and a deep red facial coloration from Gohan.

"Either way, she's not the type of girl that you can keep a secret from," spoke Gohan once his face had lost its red tint.

"Gohan, it seems to me that this girl likes you, silly," responded Bulma after she'd exhaled a deep breath of smoke. "I know that sounds strange, but that's the way girls operate sometimes," she explained going into detail. "There's a good chance that you could get out of competing in the tournament by asking her out on a date," she proposed thoughtfully.

"Nuhuh, not this girl," answered Naruto definitively.

"Yeah, tried that," Gohan agreed. "She wasn't interested. Not her. What I think she really wants is to beat me up! I'm afraid I'm gonna have to compete, but they don't allow head protection in the tournament. So I need to come up with a new disguise," he said, looking over the helmet in his hands.

"Awe, what a shame!" Bulma sighed. "You don't see superheroes wearing helmets very often. It's a nice touch."

"Actually, it's kinda stupid," supplied Trunks, only to be ignored. Snickering, Naruto ruffled the little kid's hair.

"Videl did call it a trashcan," Gohan sighed in defeat.

"Ouchie! That hurts!" chuckled Bulma. "I guess I don't know what's in anymore. I must be getting old," she said jokingly. "Let's see. We need to come up with something simple, yet chic. I know just the thing!"

A few minutes later, Bulma's modifications to Gohan's costume were complete. Needless to say, audience reactions were…mixed. Trunks couldn't believe how much of a dork Gohan looked, and Naruto, he was doing his best not to grin in amusement, and was failing, spectacularly. "Alright! I love it! Now that's what I call style!" shouted Gohan appreciatively as he took in his new appearance. Whereas before he wore a helmet, now he had a white bandana wrapped in a semi turban style, covering his hair, and a pair of black sunglasses similar to Master Roshi's. "Hey, what do you think, Trunks? Pretty cool, right?"

"Don't answer that," suggested Naruto in a quick whisper.

"And what about you, Naruto? I guess that mask of yours is against the rules, too. Need help with a new look?"

The blonde shook his head. "Nah, I'll just wear a cloth mask. It'll only cover my face from my nose down, but that should be enough. Besides, Gohan's costume's a little…"

"I think you look very cool!" stated Bulma, ignoring his commentary. "But make sure you like it, because your picture's gonna be plastered everywhere after you win."

"And who says _he's_ going to win?" Everyone turned to see Vegeta in a dark muscle shirt leaning in the doorway, no doubt fresh from the gravity chamber.

"Who could possibly beat him?" asked Bulma incredulously.

The older Saiyan smirked arrogantly. "Why, yours truly, that's who! If you'll enter, I'll enter!" Naruto grinned from the sidelines. He had trained extensively with Vegeta for years. He knew that Vegeta wanted to test himself, and that in his mind the only worthy opponents were those with Saiyan blood running through their veins. Which meant himself and Gohan, in their father's absence. "You were a lot stronger than me when you fought Cell. But while you've been hanging out in the _library_ and going out on _dates_, I've been doing nothing but severe training the entire time."

Bulma snorted from annoyance, crossing her arms grumpily. "Yep, that's all you've been doing! I can vouch for that," she growled. "How come you Saiyans can train all day long, but you can't mow the lawn or take out the trash?" Most everyone had the decency to look sheepish, well, Vegeta excluded, and Trunks was still a little too young to understand the nuances of witty banter.

"This is cool! Dad, Gohan, and Naruto are gonna fight!" cheered Trunks. Sure, the blonde and Vegeta sparred, but it was nowhere near to a real fight.

"_I think I'll enter, too,_" echoed a disembodied voice throughout the room. Trunks looked confused, but those that knew the voice recognized it immediately and stiffened at hearing it.

"It can't be," whispered Naruto, not sure whether to believe he'd heard his voice. "Dad?" he asked aloud, his question chorusing with Gohan's own.

10 Minutes Later:

They had split up. Gohan was heading to Master Roshi's to tell Krillin, and he was headed for the Lookout to tell Piccolo. He couldn't stop shaking with energy and unbridled joy. They would see their father again! You couldn't pry the grin from his face with a crowbar. His feelings radiated into his energy though. He was unaware how much either as he was a rocket in the sky. He never really noticed that the Lookout came into sight earlier than it should have.

He smiled as the familiar structure came into sight. He hadn't seen Dendai or Mr. Popo in weeks, too busy with school work and training. Lowering his energy output, he dropped like a meteor to the concrete floor, skidding several feet.

"Well, what's got you so worked up?"

Naruto turned around to find the exact person he was looking for. "Hi, Piccolo!" he greeted with a broad grin. The tall Namekian was hovering several feet above the ground in a meditative position, and was in the process of lowering to the ground though as his legs unfolded from beneath him. He landed lightly a second later. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his student slash training partner, wondering why he was wearing such an absurdly large grin.

"What?"

Naruto's smile just grew. "Big news, Piccolo," and he proceeded to tell him about the World Tournament and how Goku planned to participate. To his credit, the Namekian hid his own excitement well. Dendai and Mr. Popo, who had come out to join them from the beginning, were both less reserved and were openly smiling at Goku's pending return.

"Goku, huh? If he's entering, it should be a tournament to remember," added Piccolo smugly. Not that it wasn't true either. Somehow, whenever their group entered a fight, it always got big really fast.

"Yeah, and Gohan's going to see if Krillin can enter, too. So…what do you say?"

Piccolo smirked, "Sure, kid. It actually sounds like fun." He was never one to freely admit his feelings often, but he felt a thrill at the idea of seeing Goku again, and possibly fighting him as well.

"I'll bet Dendai would enjoy the tournament as well," suggested Mr. Popo.

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, that'd be great!" he cheered enthusiastically.

Dendai smiled, a little embarrassed at being the center of attention. "Thanks, Naruto, but I'm not much of a fighter. I'd better stick to healing."

They spent the remaining time waiting for Gohan, talking about old fights. Naruto and Dendai were talking about Namek when the other teen appeared on the horizon. "Hey, guys!" It was a fair reunion as they all continued reminiscing.

Before they left though, Piccolo couldn't hold it in anymore. "Tell me, Gohan. You're not wearing _that_ to the tournament, are you?" asked the elder Namekian, motioning to his Saiyaman outfit. Naruto coughed to hide the chuckle he wanted so badly to let out.

"What? Man, not you, too!" Gohan bemoaned in exasperation. "You don't think my outfit looks good?"

The Namek just looked at him for a second. "I can't lie to you, Gohan…You look ridiculous." Naruto couldn't hold it in any longer and fell over laughing, a stitch quickly forming in his side. "Aahhahahaaah! Oh, it hurts…it hurts good!" he laughed amidst the pain.

They were hundreds of miles away before Naruto finally stopped laughing. Gohan was pouting the entire way, sulking over Piccolo's statement. He was in complete denial over his outfit. "I can't believe it! Piccolo, of all people! Really! He wears a turban for goodness sake…and those pointy little booties, and who knows what that is he drapes over his shoulders!" he sulked. "Oh my gosh, come to think of it, I used to dress just like him all those years ago!" as a smile began to grow on his face. "Man, now I know why he said my outfit looks ridiculous…he's jealous." Naruto sweat dropped at his brother's idea. Oh, denial was such an ugly thing.

"You know we haven't even asked mom yet," Naruto reminded.

Gohan actually looked nervous in his disguise. ChiChi was a stickler for their continued education, and she wasn't too fond of their fighting either. "Wouldn't that be funny," he laughed uneasily before speaking like an announcer in a nasal voice. "Gohan the son of Goku will not be participating because his mommy won't let him." Naruto chortled appreciatively. "How can it be that a guy who saved the world still has to take orders from his mother?"

"Considering what mom's like? How about a strong will to survive," Naruto added. Their mother could be…almost frightening at times.

* * *

That night though, the two boys were trying to work in a word edgeways whenever they gathered the courage. "WHAT? GOKU'S COMING BACK AFTER ALL THIS TIME? THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!" ChiChi was spouting off nonstop, joyful at the thought of Goku's return. Yanking Goten from his chair and into a hug, "GOOD NEWS, SON! YOU GET TO MEET YOUR DADDY! ISN'T THAT WONDERFUL, YOU GET TO MEET YOUR DADDY!" Goten tried not to choke on the large mouthful of rice and fish until she dropped him back into his seat. "OH MY GOODNESS I HARDLY KNOW WHAT TO THINK, YOUR FATHER'S REALLY COMING HOME!" She leaned downed to Goten to look at him happily. "Just think, Goten, you finally get to meet your Daddy!" She was practically in tears. "Good heavens, boys, this is too good to be true!" Dropping her youngest son she stared off into space, "Oh, I'm in trouble though, aren't I? I look so old and your father probably hasn't changed a bit! People don't age in Otherworld, do they? Maybe I should get my hair done, and get a facial, and stop myself from crying, and-" She continued on for some time, lost in the joy of seeing her husband again.

"Yeah, that's great, Mom," he assured. "By the way, since Dad's going to be competing, we were wondering…Do you think we could compete as well? Hello? Earth to Mom?"

Forcibly pulled from her reverie, "Gohan, what are you saying?"

Trying to hide behind his bowl, Gohan;s eyes darted up to his mother as he steeled himself. "That we'd like your permission to enter the World Championship… ."

"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"Ack, GOHAN, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! YOU BOTH KNOW YOUR STUDIES TAKE PRIORITY OVER EVERYTHING ELSE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Moooom! Dad's only gonna be here for a day and we're never gonna get this chance again!" he defended.

"YOU'LL NEVER GET THIS CHANCE TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE AGAIN IF YOU BLOW THIS ONE, GOHAN!" she continued.

"The winner of the tournament gets ten million zenny, Mom. It'd be like getting a big scholarship," offered Naruto nervously from the sidelines. He hadn't wanted to say anything, but he could see his brother was floundering a bit. And when it came to winning their mother over, you had to be canny.

She was against it…until she heard how much the winner got.

"10 MILLION?" she screamed across the table. "Ahhhhh! You could get a PhD with that kinda cash!" she shouted and began ranting dreamily about the possibilities. "Oh, my sons, the PhD's," she murmured dreamily. The boys shared a look and knew that her permission was officially theirs.

* * *

"Goodnight, Naruto, Gohan," Goten chirped.

"Night, little bro," Naruto answered back.

"Hey! You're gonna help us train, right?" asked Gohan.

"You betcha!" the youngest of the brothers crowed happily, silence filling the room.

"Gohan, Naruto, what's dad like?" asked Goten nervously. The trio of brothers were laid back, watching the stars through the sunroof of their joint bedroom.

"Where to begin…" Naruto mused, not really sure where to start.

Gohan stared at the night sky, grinning. "He's like an angel, Goten."

"What's an angel like?" the little boy asked, confused.

Gohan shrugged. "I don't know. It's just that when they're around you feel happy inside."

"Dad's always been there to give everyone hope," Naruto added fondly.

* * *

Chi-Chi had barely enough time to wish them luck and safety in their training before they were out the door. Though she did manage to catch Goten, warning him not to get in the way of his big brothers' training.

The dew covered grass glinted in the light of the rising sun. The air, crisp and cool, stung their lungs as the three of them exited the house to begin their stretches. Thoroughly limbered up, they blurred away into the distance.

Naruto felt a sense of exhilaration.

It had been a very long time since they'd all trained together. To be precise, it had been a long time since Gohan had pulled away from his studies to do so. And now Goten was joining them. He grinned. There wasn't much better than getting stronger with family.

Scene Break

(Note: Hinata's last name changed to Yuhi. To be explained.)

Rewind.

Months prior, the beginning of the semester.

"I'm back!" she called, slipping out of her shoes as she entered the apartment. "Kurenai? Are you here?"

"Living room," was the dulcet reply. Turning the corner into their cozy common area, she immediately focused on the radiantly beautiful, raven-haired woman sitting on the couch, leaning over the scattered papers on the coffee table.

Ten years her senior, Kurenai wasn't actually related to her. They were family, sisters, in all but blood. Around her fifth birthday, close to a year since her mother had died, her father, disappointed in her lack of ability, had simply given up on her in favor of her younger sister. Had it not have been considered a blemish on him, she was old enough to realize, she might've been relocated into the Branch family, with everything that entailed. Or, worse still, she could've been used as a political bridge, married off or traded like chattel . But Kurenai had come for her.

In the last two years of her life, after giving birth to Hanabi, Hitomi had grown ill. As a result, Kurenai was hired to act as Hinata's chaperone. A fresh chunin at the time, she had grown close to both the Hyuga matriarch and her daughter. Through exposure to the ailing woman, she came to understand, after her passing, that having seen the kindness in her, she didn't want the life of a kunoichi for her daughter. That is, she didn't want her to have to learn to take lives.

It hadn't been too difficult for Kurenai to grasp at all. From the start, she had seen the innocence in the girl. An innocence that, while matured, had remained to this day.

Calling in Kami knew how many favors, and with the discrete understanding of the Hokage, they had left the village, together, on a prolonged recon mission. It was Kurenai's job to keep her eyes and ears open, scouting for new tech., ideas, and other advancements in general.

A cushy mission, it was closer in actuality to paid retirement. They were provided with a stipend for living expenses, as well as pay monthly pay for her efforts. As a bonus, she received a commission for every notable discovery she referred to Konoha. Still, that only filled up a few hours in the day, so Kurenai part-timed at a nearby flowershop in her spare time. The "mission" paid well enough, no small thanks to the Hokage, but she found it relaxing, and her on-the-side job gave her some pocket money.

For the sake of her own defense, during the summers, she would train Hinata in chakra and the small snatches of hand-to-hand that she knew, and introducing her to her own field, genjutsu. To learn, not to use though. The point was for her to know in case it was needed for her protection.

But during the school years, she lived with her adoptive sister as normally as any other civilian.

"How was your first day back?" Looking away from the papers, emblazoned in the upper margins with the Capsule Corp. logo, the latest line of products, she took a break from her reading. Falling back onto the couch, next to her, legs dangling from the armrest, Hinata stared upward at the ceiling in what Kurenai knew to be her ponderous silence. "Did something happen?"

Hinata's eyes seemed to be looking somewhere far off. Not too unlikely given the hidden ability of her eyes. "It was fine," she sighed. "Two students transferred into our class."

Brow knitting just enough to express worried interest, "Anyone we need to worry about?" Regardless of their mission, she had taught Hinata to always be wary of enemy ninja, even if the teen wasn't officially a shinobi.

She shook her head. "No." They hadn't presented any of the known signs of being shinobi.

"Then what's with the look?"

"Hm?" Hinata blinked owlishly, unaware of her own expression until that moment. "One of them sits next to me," she supplied sheepishly. "I-I can't explain it, but there's something…"

Shifting in her seat, Kurenai looked down at her little sister in utter bafflement. "What?"

Hands entwined over her abdomen, legs swinging, she just continued staring at the ceiling. "He's so…bright." Kurenai frowned, confusion only deepening. "I can't explain it, but he feels…bright…good." Expression turning incredulous, Kurenai had to look away, lest her little sister catch her crooked smile.

Taking a well-hedged leap, "So what's wonder-boy's name?" The bluenette's cheeks burned in embarrassment at her sister's needling before she buried her face under one of the couch's plushy cushions.

* * *

Now:

Gohan had taken his time warming up. For a moment, Naruto wondered if his brother would spend the whole morning doing so. Unfortunately, among many other things, Gohan's concentration seemed to have grown…lax…in his "retirement." Demonstrated by moments where Goten, waiting to be included, would find something awesome to show. But, eventually, Gohan's temper flared in frustration. So while he got his blood and energy flowing, Naruto had Goten separated from him and ran speed drills. Attack combinations to test his speed.

"Hey! Goten!" The youngest of the trio wrenched his head around, ever smiling face turning from Naruto to his dark-haired brother.

"What…iiiiiiiiiis iiiiiiit?" Naruto grinned at his impishness.

"Can you help me for a minute?" Goten beamed.

Naruto watched from the side as Gohan outlined his task for Goten. Throwing rocks to retrain his reaction. Only three meters separating his two brothers, he had grinned knowingly to himself. Gohan had seriously underestimated Goten's strength. But seeing it in action, he'd been struck by inspiration.

Scene Break

"YOU'RE A SUPER SAIYAN?"

He nearly fell out. There Gohan was, bragging about how they were the youngest super saiyans yet, when Goten transforms right in front of him.

"Oh my gosh! This' unbelievable!" Gohan ranted as the youngest ever super saiyan, _not_ Gohan or Naruto, flared his power.

"I believe it," Naruto chortled. Then again, he'd known since the beginning. "_He looks so much like dad,_" he thought to himself, remembering the pictures he'd seen of their father when he was younger, and seeing the rounded child's face narrow and turn angular in his mind's eye until it was him that he was seeing.

Mouth agape, Gohan stared in outright shock. "Oh, man! How in the world did this happen, Goten?" he stammered. "This change…since when?" pointing a shaking finger.

Goten didn't seem to notice his brother's bafflement. "Mmm…I don't remember," he finally managed, grinning innocently.

Finally managing to shake it off, "This is crazy," Gohan ranted. "You're such a natural, Goten. My goodness! We've all had to struggle really hard to become super saiyans…and _Vegeta_…What a case he was!"

"It happened when mom was training him," Naruto offered helpfully, getting a look of confusion from Gohan. If Gohan was ever to get past this shock and back to training, he'd need a little informed prodding.

"Mom? Training?"

Goten nodded enthusiastically. "Uhuh! She always trained me, every day, while you were busy studying."

Trying to wrap his head around it all, "_Mom sure has changed since the old days. Even her letting us out of school to train for the tournament is a _huge_ difference! I think that dad dying must've had a lot to do with it._" Wait a minute… "You knew?" he bellowed, rounding on his blonde brother. Naruto shrugged, ignoring Gohan's twitching.

"Duh." He almost thought Gohan would throttle him for that one.

* * *

"Keep it up, Goten," he urged, Gohan doing his best to not get beaned in the renewed volley of rocks. Blurring into motion, he disappeared around the sizable chunk of rock. Really, it was like a miniature mountain. It was one of many in the mountainous valley around their home where they trained. And, just as he'd expected, he arrived to see the hail of stones shooting right out through the rock face.

Smirking to himself…he stood in their path.

It had suddenly occurred to him, seeing the trickle of light evidencing the rocks going clear through, that on the opposing side of the small mountain, he could use the undetectable spray of rocks to train his own reactions. The challenge was to stand just a few feet from the rock face, and, without being able to see the rocks, dodge them as they burst from the side. Unlike Gohan though, he was still fast enough to do so. That is, without transforming.

* * *

Soon after, maybe nine-thirty or ten, the light exercises stopped and on came the free sparring. It was a three-way fight with no sides taken. It was as much a test of awareness as it was of endurance and strength.

Their mini battle took them across the landscape.

Bouncing along the craggy rocks, their blurred forms soared up rock side, offensive and defensive movements taking them higher and higher.

Taking advantage of a moment where his big brother's had singled one another out, Goten pushed his advantage. Swinging out with a horizontal kick, the blow was intercepted, but Gohan was still thrown backward and off the side of the cliff.

Startled, the powered-up warrior fell before remembering he could fly, soaring up high over the others.

Face scrunching up furiously, Goten wagged his finger at him. "Hey! No fair, Gohan! You're cheating! You have to stay on the ground because I can't fly!"

"Really?"

Naruto tripped mentally. "Really?" Okay, that one even caught him off guard.

"What? Are you kidding me?"

Goten glared stink-eyes at his levitating brother. "Nooooo. If I _could_ fly I'd be kicking your butt!" he rationalized vehemently.

Still aloft, Gohan stared down in awe. "Incredible. That's like learning how to run before you can crawl! You're more like a super-pedestrian than a super saiyan!" he chortled.

"A super-_what_?" Goten asked, scowling.

"Hey, sorry, squirt," Gohan placated. "It's just that it's funny." Wrong choice of words.

"Funny?" the tiny super saiyan roared. "You better teach me how to fly because I don't like being laughed at! You hear me?" Leaping upward, he tried to close the distance so he could punch his dummy of an older brother, but Naruto had a firm grip on his collar.

"Easy, tiger," he mumbled. "He can't help it if with all those brains he's still a stupid-head."

"Alright, I'll teach you how to fly, Goten. How's that?" Gohan asked, still above them.

Face lighting up, anger forgotten, "Wow! You will?" Mood lifted, Naruto released his little brother. With an affirmation, the boy took off in a series of emphatic, joyous flips. "ALRIGHT! I'm gonna flyyyyyy! I'm gonna flyyyyyy!"

Laughing at the sight, Gohan picked up on the humming whir of a machine coming closer. Looking to the right, tracking the sound, he caught sight of a yellow aircraft bee-lining for their house. Realization hit him like a brick to the face. "Oh no! I forgot!"

"Oh, would you look at that," Naruto mused idly as Gohan dropped swiftly back among them. "Your girlfriend's here."

"Shutup!"

"What's a girlfriend? And why does Gohan have one?"

But Naruto, grinning like a maniac, wasn't about to let this one go. "Well, you see, it starts with knowing what "whipped" means."

Gohan lunged. "Gaaahh!"


	4. Relationships Are Amusing

Saiyan Legacies

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or Dragonball Z.

"Speech"  
"_Thought_"  
"**Demonic/Pissed**"

AN/ IT LIVES! Wow, been a while since this story. For a while, just hadn't felt up to it. As always, felt the creative juices flowing so went at it. Don't know how this will be received. Realized I'd already hit my 10 page mark, so just threw it up. Hope it doesn't sound too rough. Don't be too critical. I spent all of last night in a daze writing half of this. I took it down after an hour because the meeting towards the end felt lacking. So fixed it up to be more complete. Mainly just trying to get through the training days and into the tournament.

* * *

Chapter 4: Relationships Are Amusing

"You don't have to come along," Gohan grumbled. To less experienced eyes, the trio of boys were blurs even at their relaxed pace as they cut across the rocky grassland. "You know that." Not a question. More like a warning.

A feeble one.

He tried to keep it honest. He really did. But Naruto's wide grin looked like it could split his head open at any second. "Are you kidding? Miss out on mom meeting your girlfriend-"

"SHE"S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" hands coming up in an exasperated clawing motion.

"Whatever," the blonde countered casually. "I wouldn't miss this for anything. You'd be lucky if I didn't' go and get my camera for this." Gohan's eyebrow twitched dangerously. Again, he reminded himself that fratricide was a no-no. "Well, why don't you take Goten out and spar some more?"

"No way, Gohan," the tyke enthusiastically rebutted. "I wanna see this "whip" Naruto was talking about." Somewhere along the line, Naruto had innocently brought the idea that his older brother was…whipped. Whatever that meant. Either way, he wanted to see for himself.

Gohan blushed to the tips of his ears, looking like he wanted to shrivel up into himself just to escape the moment.

Their home coming into sight, they could make out two shapes at the door. Their mom…and Videl. Gohan poured on more speed. Videl and their mother…talk about a disaster waiting to happen!

* * *

"I know I shouldn't, but I can't take my eyes away," the sole blonde Son, whispered to his overly anxious brother. "It's like a car crash, I just can't stop watching."

"This is _not_ funny!" Gohan hissed back. It was bad enough that Videl and their mother reacted like baking soda and vinegar, but it was worse that you just couldn't break the pair of them apart. At this rate, it was up to them to either burn themselves out, or, for the Son boys to wait for the right moment where they could eventually pull them apart. He looked about ready to have a coronary from the stress of it all.

Much like Naruto though, Goten stood aside and let all the negativity go, laughing lightly.

"_Man, how can he just laugh?_" Gohan thought in envious exasperation. All the frustration warring between the two and he wasn't bothered in the slightest.

He was then overcome with memories of moments where his mother or Bulma would describe the tyke as being just like their father at that age. Gohan himself had never had the chance for that kind of free-mindedness. No. Their mother had beaten their noses into the grindstone before they had the chance to turn into their father. ""

* * *

Eventually, the former of the two options had happened. The multigenerational war between the two woman had faded into disagreeable grumblings. It was all Gohan, rapid-firing his excuse of teaching her to fly, being certain to avoid the whole topic of her blackmailing him, lest it start the fighting all over again.

Now, an hour later, ten or so in the morning if Naruto had to guess by the sun, they had gathered away from the house in a nearby field…far away from where they'd been wrecking the place that morning.

"I've never done this before," Gohan excused, his whole body drenched in nervousness. "But teaching can't be that hard, right?" laughing uneasily at it all.

Naruto grinned from ear to ear as he lounged against a boulder a dozen or so yards off from Mr. Gohan's Flying 101 class. Call it twisted, but he took particular glee watching his brother tremble under Videl's even stare.

Goten just stood there, beaming up at his brother. Any moment now…he'd be learning to fly!

"Right, okay, so, anyway, to fly you basically take some of your energy, then you put it beneath you, and your energy holds up. Nothing to it."

Naruto just sat back and watched. Really, for involving him in all this, being his entertainment was small beans. His reverie was interrupted when Goten fired off an energy blast, gouging a chuck out of a small raised portion of the land meter just away from them. Little tyke…the way the stories went, his dad's generation hadn't had anywhere near that dexterity with their ki in their early years, taking time and effort to build it up.

Progress through the generations, he figured.

"Hey, Naruto!"

"Hm?" Apparently, he'd been daydreaming _again._

Goten hopping around, travelling meters at a time, came right over, jumping onto the boulder and sliding right down onto his brothers shoulders. "Gohan wanted me to come over here sos he can show Videl how to bring out her energy."

"Take a breather, little brother," Naruto encouraged. "This might take a little while."

"Well, if I'm here with you, can't you teach me how to fly instead?" A good question, but one Naruto immediately had an answer for.

"Nope."

"Awwww, why not?"

"Well, Gohan promised he'd do it and I'm not gonna take that from him." His blonde big brother grinned widely. "And, because it's more fun watching Gohan sweat." Goten didn't quite get it, but he understood enough that he laughed.

"But…I'm booooooooooored," Goten whined, slumping bonelessly forward over Naruto's skull. Naruto laughed and grabbed his younger brother by the back of his jumpsuit and swung him around until they could look one another in the eye. Big, pitiful eyes stared back at him.

"We could go train," the blonde Son conceded. "How 'bout a game of speed tag?" Goten's face almost looked ready to split open from the width of his smile.

"Alriiiiiiiiiight!"

Laughing, Naruto turned to his other brother and his…student. "Hey, Gohan! We're gonna go play around. Let us know when you wanna continue the lesson."

If anything, Gohan looked incredibly relieved to be less an audience. "Oh, that's okay. See you later!"

* * *

For the next hour, two the two in their super saiyans forms zipped around the far mountains, bouncing around from crag to rocky crag. Naruto took the lead, going slow enough to provide a challenge to Goten, but with the added obstacle of maneuvering himself around Goten's energy blasts. However, for the sake of discretion, the munchkin had been limited to minimal power. With Videl around, they had to keep things low-key.

* * *

Lunchtime was yet another ridiculously funny show. Gohan had been on pins and needles from the moment Videl showed up, and around their mother it seemed to only get worse.

Naruto almost busted a rib when, after revealing her family's wealth, Videl's standing in their mother's eyes did a one-eighty. The word "marriage" was all that was needed for him to fall from the bench of the picnic table, gasping between laughs as Gohan frantically babbled in denial.

* * *

By the end of day one, Videl managed, with considerable concentration, to float a foot off the ground. While Goten, having more experience in manipulating his own energy, was doing lazy circles overhead.

Anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together could see how off-put Videl was by Goten's speedy progress. Once she'd managed to break free of gravity though, pushing past her annoyance at being outdone by a seven year old, Videl was fired up and ready to go.

Except the sun was starting to set.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

Gohan mentally stumbled. "What? But you already know how to fly. All you need now is to practice."

"I wanna learn more about this," she countered sharply, leveling a powerful, chastising glare on the resident "teacher". "Or is my presence a burden on you."

Naruto politely refrained from telling anything truthful.

Gohan waved her off frantically. "No, no! Of course not! I just didn't think…" His brain finally just quit on him, taking a load off while its body made a fool of itself.

Bringing out a capsule from her pocket, "Good then," her tone shedding its hostility as easily as a jacket. "It's settled." Clicking the capsule's switch, she tossed it ahead of her. A massive 'POOF' of smoke and her ride reappeared from storage. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Gohan sighed, relieved. At least crazy day number one was done.

He figured his brother was home free from there, but Gohan decided to open his mouth again.

* * *

A moment later...

Climbing into her helicopter-jet, Videl slammed the door for good measure, pointedly not looking back at Gohan, her face a bright crimson as she silently fumed.

Hands behind his head, "What was _that_ all about?" Goten asked, utterly confused.

"I…" Finally, after the long day was over…Gohan cracked. "I DON"T KNOW!?" sobbing a little. Naruto didn't understand all that much either, but he normally put that aside for ribbing his brother. For the moment though, he took pity on him and just patted him supportively on the shoulder, as a brother should.

And the moment passes.

"So, uh, I couldn't help but notice the chemistry going on between you two, today," Naruto hummed, dramatically scratching at his chin, grinning. "Who knew you were such a Casanova?"

Cheeks a bright red, "SHUT UP!"

* * *

The next day was much the same, flying lessons and all. Except knowing to expect Videl took a little of the pressure off. Surprisingly, the somewhat volatile young woman had showed up minus her pigtails. Gohan, doing the wise thing, just gave up, not even commenting on how what'd previously upset her had been adopted overnight.

The morning was spent flying for the newbies. Goten was zipping around, doing aerial acrobatics, while Videl steadily increased her ability, even if it was still below the tiny Son's level.

But she was proud of her progress, vowing not to quit until she could fly as well as him, zipping around like he was.

* * *

Lunchtime...

"Say, Naruto, have you told your mother about Hinata?"

The blonde Son coughed, choking on some rice that he'd been about to swallow.

But the seed was already planted.

"_Oh, crud_," he thought, coughing around watery eyes. He really hadn't expected her to go there. He probably shouldn't have joked about her and Gohan so casually while she was around. That…and he wasn't sure she _could_ play the Hinata card. As far as he knew they were just really good friends.

It didn't mean he wanted his mom to get ideas though.

Videl smirked victoriously over at him. That'll teach him!

"Who's this Hinata?" ChiChi asked, looking to her son. There was no suspicion or anything else, just curiosity,

Sweating bullets, he did the only honorable thing he could think of. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" jabbing his finger at the air behind them.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Snagging Goten by the collar, "GoingtoBulma's!Later!Bye!" and bolted, his little brother flailing in the wind behind him, amused smile on his face and bowl still in his hands.

ChiChi blinked before looking over at Videl. "But who is this Hinata?"

* * *

Later

Their father's death had been difficult on them all, each in their own ways. For him, it'd been his own uselessness. Taken down and left to watch, figuratively speaking, while the people he cared about were beaten around him. A failure. He had failed to protect his family.

For the first few weeks, he had been almost catatonic. The only signs of life he showed were to eat, albeit robotically, and to stoutly refuse any Senzu bean shoved his way. He had healed the old fashioned way, even if that was far faster than most others given his own innate healing.

And he probably would've stayed that way.

Ironically, the epiphany didn't come from any of his dad's friends, the ones he fought beside, but from Roshi. Perverted old man he may be, but he'd had sage advice for him all the same.

Flashback

"_Your father is gone, Naruto._" He hadn't exactly been gentle. Wise, but not gentle. "_That means it's up to you. I'm an old geezer, my boy. And I stopped being strong enough to stand a chance years and years ago. Let's face it. I'm cannon fodder. This is the passing of the torch from generation to generation. Goku and the others took up the mantle, but time is passing and that burden is already being passed again to the new generation. Your father is gone, and you and Gohan are two of the strongest warriors on the planet. The burden to protect has fallen to you._" They were on the back porch; the old man had taken him aside after Chichi had turned away for a moment. Looking up at the sky, the hermit sighed. "_You'll never be strong enough to stop people from dying, no one can do that, but, if you're strong enough, you can save as many as you can. Goku knew that. He did his best to save everyone that he could, but he knew that all the same. Through his sacrifice, he entrusted the world to your generation. And someday, you'll have to do the same._"

Flashback End

Naruto smiled wanly to himself. Never let it be said that Roshi was just a pervert. People of years tended to have sound advice of some form or another.

He had been ashamed of himself for being unable to do _anything_ against Cell. He made an unspoken promise that day to never be that weak again. A promise to be strong enough for anything to come his way. But, despite his sudden drive, he knew he couldn't just say that to his mother. Given her reaction to their father's death, and their own near-death experiences, she'd fight tooth and nail against it. So he'd trained in secret. It'd been slow and difficult, both as a result of the pains of secrecy, but he kept at it.

It'd been sometime later that Bulma had mentioned something to him about that day. Something she'd apparently overheard Vegeta mumbling. "_Fight…_" Down and out, he had mumbled in his unconscious, bloodied state. "_I want…to fight._" By her word, he'd once admitted to her that that had been the impetus to get him back into the fight.

He never brought it up to the Saiyan prince.

* * *

(20 Days to the Tournament)

FWAM!

Naruto rocked back from the kick to his jaw before grabbing onto the outstretched limb and using his momentum as leverage to lash out with a kick to his opponent's gut. Vegeta took the hit, but remained upright as he blocked the blow with his forearm. Separating, their interlude soon dissolved into a flurry of punches, some blocked, some making contact.

For anyone else, anyone normal, it would've all been too fast to see.

To be fair, neither one was going all out. Going all out for either of them was tempting fate, the same going for most of their group. That said, they were both powered up, though their amped up energy levels were dampened down as much as possible.

The last time there'd been property damage, Bulma hadn't let any of them hear the end of it. They'd gotten an earful for near a month.

It had only been a small crater.

Naruto had finagled Vegeta into going for a fast-paced spar for the benefit of the boys. They had experience in light spars with one another, and sparring with their older family members, but little else. They were going nowhere near their top speeds, having to stay just slow enough for the kiddies to be able to track.

They'd witnessed spars between Naruto and Vegeta before, but this one didn't have any of the flaccid rules of the previous fights. That is…now, there was more pain. And they were witness to previously unseen speed.

* * *

Vegeta wouldn't say it, but he appreciated the spars with Kakarot's boy. His innate ability to heal, faster so than even the average saiyan, made him an exceptional sparring partner, able to take punishment and come right back, wounds healed or healing. It was a challenge. Not the one he truly wanted, that being Kakarot himself, but it would do for passing the time.

* * *

Sweat dripping off him, he sat heavily on the grass of the back lawn of Capsule Corps. The spar had lasted half into the day. They could've kept going, but stopped for the sake of the boys' attention spans.

Her son returned, Bulma had come out to join them, with the exception that instead of sitting on the ground she'd used some capsules to bring out an umbrella-topped picnic table, and a small refrigerator.

"Hey, Bulma."

Looking away from where Trunks and Goten were sparring, "Hm? Yeah?"

"I know biology isn't your forte," he excused. In truth, that was _his_ bailiwick. Unlike Gohan, he'd gone for the more science heavy track. "In this case, _xeno_biology. But I've been thinking about something for a while, and I'd like to run it by you."

She shrugged before taking a sip of her Irished lemonade. "Shoot." Observing the children while he cooled off, Vegeta stepped away to get some of the water from the decanter on the table.

Chewing on his lip, Naruto watched the pair of youngest yet super saiyans, each releasing pent up energy from having to sit and watch for so long. "I've got a theory…about our super saiyan threshold states." A mouthful. He wondered if Vegeta, a strict warrior, understood all of that. But the mentioning of "super saiyan" was doubtless still more than enough to get him listening, no matter if he would understand it.

"What about it?"

"Well, from what you've said, Vegeta," looking to the elder saiyans. "High power levels would most often run in family lines with Saiyans." The Saiyan prince grunted in agreement. It was the simple truth. "I was thinking, with that taken into account, our genes, when they're passed on," subtly referring to copulation, "The children could be as fit as the Saiyan was when he or she passed them on."

Bulma paused mid-sip, looking into the distance thoughtfully. "I see," she mumbled.

"What are you babbling about?" Vegeta huffed, growing more irritated with every word passing that he didn't understand.

Naruto leaned back on the grass. "Think about it this way. I can't say for myself, since I'm not genetically related, but let's think about dad. Gohan and I were super saiyans by the age of eight because we were put under enough pressure, but we had to work for it. Then, after dad became a super saiyan, Goten was born, and it seemed like second nature to him. Look at Trunks. It's the same with him. Sure, he was born _after_ you became a Super Saiyan, but you'd likely been at the verge…at…at that time." Awkward.

Bulma nodded, the idea becoming clearer to her. "So, the power level of the parent at the time of the genetic material's production is, possibly, directly linked to the potential of the child. An interesting theory."

Vegeta looked at them in something akin to disbelief, wondering if what he was hearing was accurate to what they were saying, and if it were true. "Are you implying that offspring of a super saiyan will be super saiyan?"

Bulma and Naruto shared a glance before the latter answered. "I wouldn't say it's guaranteed. There's not enough proof either way. I'd say it's more like the potential increases. The stronger the parent is, the stronger their progeny will be."

Vegeta contemplated his bottled water, lost in thought. "_Remarkable. I had always known that family lineages afforded advantages in power. But after I attained the level myself, I never had any idea that it might affect my offspring so profoundly._" Not that he'd actually given much thought to his future before, not in regards to having children. Trunks, though accepted, had never been expected. And this new idea… "_All my descendants could be super saiyans._" The thought filled him with a certain pride. The Saiyan race was still alive…and while its numbers were few, their power was greater than ever before.

"It makes sense," Bulma agreed. "For a race that relied so much on fighting, reason would support that their genetic material would adapt in the same manner. Hence, the more powerful the Saiyan, the more powerful the kids."

"Not to throw in a wrench, but there's also the other factor."

Bulma paused before nodding, "I see."

Twitching a little at being torn from his reverie for this…prattle, "What in the blazes are you on about now?" he griped.

"Well, there's one other possibility," Naruto threw out.

Bulma took it from there. "Hybrids," she explained for Vegeta. "Naruto, Gohan, Goten, even Trunks, are all hybrids, half saiyans. That could also be a factor in their strength."

Vegeta allowed himself a scoff. "Doubtful. Your first theory was believable, but I highly doubt that the might of the saiyan race could be so readily improved by such a weak race."

"For that…you sleep on the couch."

"Damn it, woman."

"One week. Want to make it three?"

"…" Standing stiffly from the bench, glaring absolute indignity back at her, the prince of the saiyans turned and stalked off, muttering haughtily to himself. "…And they call me evil."

"The pair of you," Naruto mused, just wowed by the married couple's interactions.

Bulma smirked superiorly. "Oh, _he_ knows who wears the pants in this family. Just wait…so will you one day." That wiped most of the smile off his face.

* * *

The sun was threatening to set when Naruto and Goten left Bulma's, making a slow start on their journey home. Instead of flying though, to Goten's initial grumbling, they'd taken to walking. The little saiyan perched on his shoulders, arms folded across his own blonde head.

"Wow, Naruto," awed. "This is where you go to school?" This little detour had been meant to give Goten a chance to see where he and their brother were going every weekday, and, someday him too.

"Yep. Big place, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah! I can't wait until I'm old like you and can go to school." Naruto smiled at his choice of words. Goten still needed to work on his social graces before someone less understanding took fault at his choice of words.

Turning away from the currently empty building, it being Saturday and all, "Heh, give it time, Goten. Give it-"

"Um, hello, Naruto"

Spinning on heal, he searched out the voice, its owner right behind him.

* * *

"Um, hello, Naruto."

Kurenai almost dropped the grocery bag in her arms. Sweet Kami.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Hinata." It'd been nearly three weeks since they'd taken an absence from school for training. He hadn't seen or spoken to the shy girl since.

Now here she was in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt under a light jacket, long blue hair hanging loose behind her. The way the fading sun caught on her reminded him of just how...pretty...she was. A natural pretty, not like how he'd seen some of the girls in school with makeup caked on. He'd admit if asked that she was pretty.

She just radiated...niceness.

Videl was neither right nor wrong in her jab. He and Hinata ate lunch together frequently and did on occasion hang out right after school. But it was nothing serious, just talking. He'd figured that was what friends did. On the other hand, he could really see how someone could be interested in Hinata. She had a lot to offer in both looks and in nature. She was one of the few gentle people he'd met in the entire school.

The truth of it was, when it came to relationships, she was shy and he was something of a dunderhead. Gohan may have been in the dark when it came to understanding women, but Naruto's issue was in recognizing their behaviors. Like how Hinata blushed around him.

Something he might figure out sooner or later.

Next to her, was a woman of about eight to ten years older, dressed in a simple sundress. Shoulder length raven hair with a subtle curl, and striking faded-scarlet eyes., and fair skin.

Kurenai continued to stare, just trying to come to grips. …It was just uncanny. Age and defined musculature aside, it was like _he_ was standing right in front of her.

"Naruto?" Head tilting back a little, he could just barely see his little brother's eyes peering down at him from between his blonde hair. "Who're they?" he asked bluntly.

Grinning at his brother's shyness, not meeting many people outside the family's friends, "This is Hinata, we go to school together," he explained. "Beyond that…remember your manners and introduce yourself."

Parting his big brother's spiky blonde hair so he could see better, and be better seen in turn, "Hi. I'm…Goten Son," he introduced brightly, grinning around the blonde spikes while also hiding behind them.

No-one could deny the irrepressible innocence of a child.

"And, as Hinata knows, my name's Naruto," he greeted the woman beside her, a grin matching his little brother's plastered across his face. "We sit next to each other in class."

Doing her best not to stare. Any more than usual. "Kurenai…Yuhi."

"My sister," Hinata supplied politely for her dumbstruck adoptive sister.

* * *

"Naruto and I just left Bulma's house," the diminutive saiyans informed innocently as they walked down the street, away from the school building.

At this Kurenai showed a little life. "Bulma?" It wasn't what you'd call a common name, much like "Naruto".

Naruto nodded casually. "Friend of the family," the sole present blonde explained. "She and our dad knew each other since they were kids."

"So, a long, long time!" Goten added with a laugh, not seeing the potential error at exaggerating. But, then, to him that was a really long time, before he was born even!

"Anyway, we came to town to visit, and-"

"Yeah! And I got to play with Trunks!" Naruto thanked any and all gods that Goten hadn't yet mentioned anything like "spar" or "train".

Kurenai and Hinata both noted the…oddness in the two names, but politely refrained from commenting. Kurenai though was curious about something one thing. "Bulma… You don't mean Bulma Briefs, do you?"

Going limp, Goten hung upside down from his considerably taller brother's shoulders. "You know Bulma?"

Kurenai covered her disbelief well. Bulma Briefs was a _very_ well-known person, especially considering her family was one of the world's best at top of the line technology. Half of the things she recommended to the Hokage were from Capsule Corp.

It just baffled her that these two could know the head woman behind Capsule Corp., and be so blasé about the relationship their family had. Now she'd seen everything.

To their credit, she couldn't see any deceit in either of them. To be expected of the lovable tyke, but the big-Yondaime look-a-like was the same. An open book.

It just surprised the Hell out of her that they were so well connected!

* * *

Soon enough though, the parties had to separate. The Yuhi sisters to get their groceries home before they spoiled, and Naruto and Goten to continue on toward home.

"Later, Hinata!" the blonde called, walking backwards before turning back around and jogging off down the road.

Watching the retreating pair, Goten still clinging to Naruto's hair, Kurenai was deep in thought. Something that'd been happening ever since meeting up with the two. "Hinata." Looking over to see the still very much blushing girl. "Have you ever "seen" Naruto?"

The bluenette understood the hint, shaking her head. "Naruto? No. Why?" the soft-spoken girl countered, more than a little curious at the question.

"Try. Please," Kurenai insisted. Brow knitting, she looked again to where the two were almost out of sight.

Out of sight for anyone someone else maybe.

Concerned gaze looking back and forth, checking the streets, content that no-one was around, Hinata focused on Naruto. Veins lateral of either eye bulged, distending slightly against the fair skin. The distance closed rapidly as her gaze homed in on that same jogging blonde…

She winced, looking away. Fists coming up, she scrubbed at her eyes furiously. "Ow," she whined lowly.

Worry coming off her in waves, Kurenai held the bluenette by the shoulders, "Hinata? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" before pulling the girl's hands away from her eyes, the whites turned a pinkish hue from some irritation.

For the sake of easing her sister's mind, she stopped resisting her ministrations and held back from continuing to rub at her stinging, watering eyes. "I'm…okay," she assured. She _really_ wanted to keep rubbing them.

Seeing clear as day the pain in her face, "Hinata, what happened?"

"So bright…" she murmured.

"Hinata?"

Wiping at her eyes one last time, _the_ last time she swore to herself, "So much…energy," she explained simply, raising her voice from its whisper so that Kurenai could hear.

"Chakra?"

Hinata paused, thinking, biting her lip, before shaking her head. "I… No, I don't think so." Searching the horizon for the gone silhouette of Naruto, "You don't understand, oneesan," falling back onto familiar etiquette training. "He didn't have a chakra network. The energy…it wasn't chakra, not entirely, but it filled his body." She didn't dare mention the momentary blink of seeing him without clothes. Her little secret. "And, it was the same for his brother. He didn't have as much, but… So much energy." Her experience limited that it was, she'd _never_ seen such a large source of power before in her life. It was like looking at the sun!

AN/ And that's a wrap for another chapter.


End file.
